:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/4625348/131312682.jpg)
As the Nashville Predators and Phoenix Coyotes prepare to meet for the first time in the playoffs, we have a chance to start a rivalry pretty much from scratch here. There isn't much shared history between these two teams, other than their common battle to evade the clutches of Jim Balsillie and relocation to Hamilton.
For a start on breaking down this series, follow after the jump for a quick look at how the individual players on each team fared in the four games played between Nashville & Phoenix during the regular season...
Phoenix Coyotes
Shane Doan's no shock to see atop the list here, but you might be surprised to hear that the -14 Plus/Minus rating he has against Nashville over the course of his career is his worst mark against any NHL opponent. Meaningless? Sure, but an interesting tidbit nonetheless.
| Player | GP | Goals | Assists | Points | Plus/Minus | PIMs | PP Goals | Shots | Avg TOI |
| Shane Doan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 19:50 |
| Daymond Langkow | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 18:01 |
| Keith Yandle | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 21:11 |
| Raffi Torres | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13:17 |
| Ray Whitney | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 18:01 |
| Boyd Gordon | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 16:32 |
| David Schlemko | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 18:52 |
| Lauri Korpikoski | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 16:43 |
| Martin Hanzal | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 17:36 |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 22:06 |
| Radim Vrbata | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 18:03 |
| Taylor Pyatt | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 13:00 |
| Antoine Vermette | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 18:41 |
| Michal Rozsival | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23:35 |
| Mikkel Boedker | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11:13 |
| Petteri Nokelainen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10:13 |
| Rostislav Klesla | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 19:49 |
| Adrian Aucoin | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 19:47 |
| Andy Miele | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13:28 |
| Chris Summers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12:27 |
| Derek Morris | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 18:06 |
| Gilbert Brule | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7:37 |
| Kyle Chipchura | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8:24 |
| Kyle Turris | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10:31 |
| Marc Pouliot | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8:47 |
| Michael Stone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19:45 |
| Patrick O'Sullivan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11:36 |
| Paul Bissonnette | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6:56 |
In goal, the interesting thing to note here is that the Preds only faced Mike Smith with the Coyotes once out of four tries, a shootout victory for Nashville on March 12:
| Player | GP | Record | Save % | GAA |
| Jason LaBarbera | 3 | 2-1-0 | .931 | 2.01 |
| Mike Smith | 1 | 0-0-1 | .886 | 3.69 |
Nashville Predators
Since three out of the four games between these two teams were played early in the season, we shouldn't be surprised to see Craig Smith's name among Nashville's leaders.
| Player | GP | Goals | Assists | Points | Plus/Minus | PIMs | PP Goals | Shots | Avg TOI |
| Martin Erat | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19:38 |
| Craig Smith | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 15:43 |
| David Legwand | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -5 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 19:32 |
| Sergei Kostitsyn | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 15:28 |
| Colin Wilson | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 16:26 |
| Patric Hornqvist | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 16:31 |
| Ryan Suter | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 28:08 |
| Blake Geoffrion | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10:59 |
| Francis Bouillon | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 18:04 |
| Hal Gill | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20:02 |
| Jack Hillen | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15:42 |
| Jonathon Blum | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16:26 |
| Matt Halischuk | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11:40 |
| Mike Fisher | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 20:37 |
| Paul Gaustad | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12:18 |
| Ryan Ellis | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14:40 |
| Shea Weber | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 28:17 |
| Andrei Kostitsyn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19:49 |
| Brian McGrattan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6:00 |
| Cal O'Reilly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13:53 |
| Chris Mueller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10:14 |
| Gabriel Bourque | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9:12 |
| Jerred Smithson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13:06 |
| Jordin Tootoo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13:39 |
| Kevin Klein | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19:27 |
| Kyle Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9:32 |
| Mattias Ekholm | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11:30 |
| Nick Spaling | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 14:34 |
| Niclas Bergfors | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8:24 |
| Roman Josi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14:00 |
| Teemu Laakso | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11:38 |
And in goal... Pekka Rinne fared decently:
| Player | GP | Record | Save % | GAA |
| Pekka Rinne | 4 | 2-2-0 | .919 | 2.71 |
So what, if anything, jumps out to you from these results? Do they point out particular players who might be either especially dangerous or a potential liability?